Trial Briefs
NC Voter Project Aims To Make Voting as Simple as Possible
The North Carolina Voter Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to expand voter registration, provide access to trusted election information and encourage civic participation across North Carolina. NCAJ member Leonard Jernigan, president of the NC Voter Project board, founded the nonprofit five years ago with the goal of using nontraditional, modern approaches to target the state’s large pool of unregistered or infrequent voters.
NCAJ encourages its members to rely on NC Voter Project and the State Board of Election website as sources for registration and voting information to share with their clients, friends and family during the 2026 election. At the Voter Project website you can check voter registration, sign up for the Voter Project newsletter, learn how to get involved and donate.
Jonas Silver became NC Voter Project’s executive director earlier this year. We sat down for a conversation about the group’s mission and methods.
What are the biggest obstacles to getting unregistered voters to register in North Carolina?
It’s not that people don’t care. I think it’s that life gets in the way. People move and they don’t realize they need to update their registration address, which is basically filling out a new registration form and sending it in. They also don’t realize they can register after living in North Carolina for just 30 days.
Also, a lot of people think that it’s more complicated than it actually is.
The other side of that is misinformation. They’ve been told or at least it’s been presumed that it’s complicated because it’s hard for people to find information about how and where to register to vote. Our goal is to make that as simple as possible.
Watching the news, it seems like the laws and rules are changing on the state and federal level all the time. Is that perception accurate?
The keyword there is it “seems.” And the problem is that the way it seems is reality right now. It is reality that voters are experiencing more change and more uncertainty than they have in many years. Whether it’s the court decisions, legislative changes, or administrative updates, the rules on how to vote seem to shift very frequently. When they hear different messages from different places, they’re not sure who to trust and where to get the right information. Also, the change creates a barrier. They think “I don’t really know what it is, so I’m just not going to deal with it.”
What can individuals, particularly legal professionals, do to help educate and persuade their friends, family and clients to vote?
Tell them to register early. Verify their registration is current. You can encourage people not to wait until the last minute to learn the rules. Share our information instead of falling prey to social media rumors.
Legal professionals are especially well positioned because people trust them. They can arm themselves with the information that we provide. Remember that not everybody is starting from the same place. If people want to take time to listen and build trust with their family and clients, maybe multiple conversations are needed. Try and let them know they can register at any time. And they can call Voter Project directly for information and details.
Will NC Voter Project offer resources for voters whose eligibility is challenged?
Voters can reach out to us directly and we can help them navigate that. We’re up on the rules and regulations that are being passed right now.
How is NC Voter Project reaching unregistered and infrequent voters this election cycle?
We use voter file and census data to identify them and mail them a letter and a voter registration application in a pre-addressed stamped envelope that goes to their local board of election. We send them that and a text follow-up weekly. We sent out 140,000 letters between May and the beginning of July. The initial phase one included about 80,000 letters. We did a text follow up. So far that program has netted over 2,000 registered voters in a month and half.
We’re not above switching out and changing the strategies. Our goal is to continue doing randomized trials and engaging people and asking them what works best. We also compare it with the data on the returns of each of those programs to figure out what strategy works best.
What kind of progress is NCVP making toward achieving its goals?
One very successful project is our Future Voters Network. We’ve had a lot of support getting into schools to reach students. We register 18 -years-olds to vote and get 16- and 17-year-olds preregistered. On the date they turn 18, North Carolina will automatically recognize them as registered to vote.
We have run two pilots in Rolesville and Smithfield-Selma. Through those two high school programs, we were able to register or preregister about 300-400 over three days. It’s a very effective program, and it’s pretty cheap. This fall we will be in 12 schools, working with civics clubs and teachers who want us to come in and partner with them.
Does NC Voter Project have a get-out-the-vote mission?
Our main focus is registration but the offshoot of that is that we get a lot of information from people registering to vote through us. That also means that we can reach out to them on the day it’s time for them to vote
We can be a source for early voting information. For those high school-age voters in our Future Voters Network, on their 18th birthday they get a text from us telling them they are now registered to vote.
We actually have volunteers – human beings - who will text back and forth with those people if somebody does have questions. Being that facilitator to make sure they have all that information it really helps with GOTV. Text messaging is one of the best tools in our arsenal.
